The Black Prince
by lawleyj1
Summary: Follow the story of Pavo the Black Panther as he protects his kingdom from the evil serpent Slither.


It was a happy, exciting day in the kingdom of Pavo the Black Panther. Pavo's friend Meena the jungle cat had come to Pavo's kingdom for a vacation. Many of the animals, including Pavo, were spending the day in the clearing playing with their welcomed visitor.

Bubu the bongo, Safia the deer, Agura the elephant, and Duma the young ocelot were laying on the ground, sweating and looking tired. Semos the orang-utan observed the group from a high branch.

"Come on, Pavo!" said Bubu. "You too, Meena! Sit down for a while and talk with us! We're beat!"

"Yeah!" said Duma. "We've been running and playing all morning! Aren't you worn out yet?"

"Not me! I'm still having fun!" called Pavo. "Do you want to play Semos?"

"Are you kidding?" shouted the Semos. "What makes you think that an old orang-utan like me can up with you youngsters!"

"I'll stop for a while Meena wants." Pavo turned to his playmate. "What do you say?"

"I'm not tired yet if you're not," answered Meena. Tag... You're it!"

"Hey!" shouted Pavo. They bounded through the tall grass, laughing. "I'm gaining, Meena! I'm gonna catch you!"

"No, you're not!" laughed Meena. "I'm too fast!" Meena jumped left, then right, then turned a high somersault in the air and landed behind Pavo.

"Hey!" shouted Pavo, looking back. Not watching where he was going, he tripped over a rock and fell on the hard ground.

"Pavo!" Meena stopped the game and ran to her friend. "Are you alright?"

Pavo slowly struggled to his feet, looking dazed. "Yeah, I guess I'm alight. I just hurt my shoulder a little."

"Here, I'll make it feel better." Meena commenced to lick his shoulder. Pavo was taken aback by this display of affection.

"It isn't that bad, Meena, I'll be okay," Pavo insisted.

"Good," said Meena. "I'm sorry for playing that trick on you, Pavo. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known you'd get hurt."

Pavo smiled. "Don't feel bad, Meena. It was an awfully good move. I can't blame you for being so good at tag!"

"I'm so glad we're friends, Pavo," said Meena. "I hope we'll always have fun playing together." Meena sat close to Pavo with her head on his shoulders. Pavo blushed so brightly it could plainly be under his black pelt.

"Thanks, Meena," he stammered, "Hush... I'm glad we're friends, too." Meanwhile dot and Dinky the vulture twins observed the scene. They looked at each other and snickered.

Semos sat in his tree watching. "Humph!" he said to himself. "Pavo maybe a great prince, but he sure can be dense sometimes. He doesn't understand how much Meena cares for him. Even if he did, he wouldn't know what to do about it. I hope he changes soon."

At that moment, Tiki the masked finch flew towards the group at full speed. "Pavo! Semos!" squawked the little finch. "Come quick! There's a human in the jungle and Jama the leopard and the red dogs Dib and Dob are attacking him!"

"We'd better save him!" shouted Pavo. "Show me where!"

This way!" answered Tiki.

"I'm coming, too!" said Meena.

All the animals raced towards the jungle with Tiki, Pavo, and Meena far in the lead. They soon came to the site of the commotion. The helpless human had climbed a tree to get away from his attackers. Jama grinned and growled at the man in the branches with an evil glint in his eyes. Dib and Dib circled the tree one behind the other, snarling and snickering to each other.

"Stop this right now, Jama!" ordered Pavo. "You too, Dib and Dob!"

"Pavo!" growled the leopard, "I should have known you'd come. You always defend humans who come to disturb the peace of the jungle!"

"You don't know why he's here, and you don't care about peace anyway!" said Pavo. "You leave him alone!"

"Or what," mocked Jama. "You'll try and stop us? You don't believe in fighting, you coward!"

"I don't like to fight," said Pavo, "bit I'll defend someone who's being attacked by bullies."

Jama laughed. "We'll see how well you and Meena can fight."

"Pavo's right, you thug!" Meena said indignantly.

"Dib, Dob, get her!" Jama ordered.

Dib and Dob looked at each other, snickered and then jumped on Meena. After a brief struggle with the clumsy, overly confident red dog, Meena bit one of them and then the other. The red dogs screamed, jumping straight into the air and ran away with their tails between their legs. Pavo meanwhile, was having trouble against the strong, skilful Jama. Pavo was pressing down on the leopard's head, while Jama was pressing on Pavo's neck. Meena ran over and bit Jama on the tail, causing him to leap in pain. Pavo ran hard against Jama's chest, pinning against a tree. The other animals began to arrive. Jama snarled, pushed Pavo away, and ran off after his cowardly friends.

Semos spoke first. "Pavo! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Meena's help," said Pavo. "I'm just worried about that poor human in the tree. Hey, you up there! You can come down now, we won't hurt you!"

"You... You can talk!" exclaimed the human. "Pavo, is that you?"

"Yes, I'm Pavo, ruler of this jungle. Who are you?"

"It's me! Peter! I met you at the deserted village when my family and I were on a motorized safari." Peter climbed down from the tree. He was a clean-cut, bespectacled, intelligent looking young man with a large backpack.

"I remember you!" said Duma. "You fixed the cut on my paw and gave me some penicillin for the infection!"

"How can I forget," added Semos. "I still have a crick in my back from the day I carried your mother out of the jungle when your car broke down. He reached around and rubbed his lumbar spine as if it just thinking about it made it ache.

Pavo laughed. "It's good to see you again, Peter," he said. "Welcome to our jungle!"

"I'm glad I found, Pavo," said Peter. "I came here hoping you could help me with something important."

"I'd be happy to help," replied Pavo. "Come with me to my lair and we'll talk. If we stay here, those three trouble makers might come back, and they might bring their boss Slither with them this."

That night, Pete, Pavo, Meena, Bubu, Tiki, Semos and Duma sat around a small fire in the centre of Pavo's home. "I've been sent here by the Government's Interior Department," Peter explained. "You see, I'm a forest ranger now."

Pavo asked, "But Peter, you were studying to be a doctor. Why did you change?"

"I didn't set out to be a doctor at first," answered Peter. "What I really wanted to do was help animals. Ever since I was very young I wanted to be a naturalist. But people told me that wasn't a very good idea, and if I really wanted to help animals I should be a veterinarian. So I studied to be a doctor for animals."

"That's how you knew how to treat my paw!" said Duma.

"That's right," said Peter. "Anyway, soon people were telling me that being an animal doctor wasn't a very intelligent choice that I should be a doctor for humans instead. My parents sent me to Harvard Medical School, but still I wanted to help animals. So after I graduated, I accepted this job to help take care of the jungle. Being a doctor might be handy in places far away from civilization."

Pavo said, "We're glad you're here to help us animals, Peter. I hope your run-in with Jama and Dib and Dob didn't make you change your mind." Pavo hung his head. "Unfortunately, not all animals in the jungle want to live peacefully."

Peter scratched Pavo's neck right behind his ears. "It isn't your fault. I knew there might be danger when I took this job."

"You said you wanted our help with something, Peter," Pavo asked. "What is it?"

Peter explained "The government sent me to research the history of this part of the jungle. Specifically, they want me to document the relationship the natives had with the black panthers. There are stories that whenever a black panther died, the natives would carefully preserve its hide. I'd like you to show me the shrine where they kept your ancestor's fur's Pavo, so that I can take pictures."

I'd be happy to do that, Peter," said Pavo. "The hides used to be at the deserted village, but the hut was falling apart, so my sister Talia and I moved the furs to a stone temple way up the river. I'll take you up there; Talia still guards the hides and she might chase you away if you go alone."

"I would appreciate that very much, Pavo. When can we go?"

Tomorrow morning, but first I'd like to show you around the jungle. If you're her to study the jungle, you should see all the things the animals have done to make it a better place to live. You sleep her tonight; I'll Meena home right now so we can get started early. I'll be back soon."

"Goodnight!" said all the animals. The animals left Pavo's lair and went to their homes. Pavo walked with Meena through the field to the guest dwelling where she stayed during visits.

"Look, Meena," said Pavo, "it's a full moon tonight."

"Yes, it's very beautiful, isn't it," said Meena. "I've had a wonderful day today, Pavo. I'm glad we can be friends with humans when they come to the jungle."

"I'm glad you like humans, Meena, even though your parents were killed by hunter."

"You were left an orphan because of hunters too, but you always help humans when they come to the jungle and ask." They arrived at the guesthouse and Pavo sat down outside to talk a little longer.

"That's because most humans are really kind and good. I think how much I learned from..." Pavo stopped abruptly and looked down at the ground.

Meena said, "Pavo, you still miss Ranger Smith a lot. I can tell."

"I suppose you're right, Meena. He raised me in the city and showed that civilization can be good. Because of John, I learned to forgive humans for what they did to my parents. I've always felt a little empty since he left."

Meena looked sympathetic. "You knew he couldn't stay in the jungle forever. But I'm sorry you miss him so much, Pavo."

They sat silently and looked at each other for a while. "You know," said Pavo, "My ancestors and the natives lived in peace for hundreds of years. They respected and helped and protected each other. I've always wished that all humans and animals could live together that way." Pavo smile. "I'm going to help Peter learn everything he can about the history of the black panthers. If he teaches other humans, it just might bring that dream closer to coming true."

"That's wonderful. I'm proud of you, Pavo. You're such a noble prince." In the bright moonlight, Meena smiled and Pavo with wide eyes. He didn't get it.

"Thanks, Meena," he replied simply. "And thanks for you your help against Dib, Dob, and Jama today. Without you, I couldn't have saved Peter. Goodnight!"

Pavo turned and trotted across the clearing back towards the lair. Meena stood watched him for a few seconds disappointed. "Oh, Pavo," she thought, "If you only knew how much I love you." She went inside and slept.


End file.
